Sony Xperia Z3 leaked pictures show Android 4.4.4 with Full HD screen

A leaked Xperia Z3 screenshot provides some new details about Sony’s next-generation Xperia flagship, though we won’t see the new phone until September.

Information regarding the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact has leaked across the Web, but the latest Xperia leaks pertain to what many believe is Sony’s next flagship device.

A Sony smartphone bearing model number D6653 with a Qualcomm MSM8974PRO-AC processor (known as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801), running Android 4.4.4 KitKat – the latest incremental Google update that should fix some security issues that were present since Android 4.4 KitKat. Google looks to release Android L this Fall, and HTC’s update schedule shows that the HTC One M8 will likely be one of the first devices to receive the Android L update this Fall. When the Android L update is released, the new Xperia Z3 will be a small update behind in number – but the Android L update with its Material Design will make Android 4.4.4 KitKat seem like a somewhat different OS when it drops.

From the MSM8974PRO-AC processor on the new Sony device, we can see that Sony’s new Xperia Z3 (if this is indeed the name) will clock in at 2.5Ghz, as opposed to the 2.3Ghz clocked speeds of Qualcomm’s earlier MSM8974 processors (both the original MSM8974 and the MSM8974AB).

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor already lies within the Xperia Z2 and the Galaxy S5, for example, and Sony looks to stick with the Snapdragon 801 in the new model. One may wonder why Sony looks to use the Snapdragon 801 in the Xperia Z3 when it used the same processor chip in the Xperia Z2, but the answer lies in the fact that Qualcomm may not produce the Snapdragon 805 until the very end of this year. Sony’s Xperia Z3 is due for an introduction around September, so rumors of a late Snapdragon 805 chip are spot-on.

An AnTuTu benchmark on the Xperia Z3 that leaked within the last two days shows that the new Sony Xperia device scored a total of 37,169 in terms of its graphics and performance. This score places the Xperia Z3 slightly above the Galaxy S5. We got our hands on the Galaxy S5 (see our review) and found that AnTuTu scores the Galaxy S5 at 36,769 – only 400 points beneath the Xperia Z3. The point difference between the Xperia Z3 (DD653) and the Galaxy S5 shows that both will likely utilize the same processor (Snapdragon 801).

As of this moment, we don’t know much more about the Xperia Z3. The screenshot, seen above, has been said to support 1080p resolution – so it’s unlikely that Sony will hop aboard the “Quad HD bandwagon” this year, as LG has done already. One thing that has helped Samsung’s graphics and on-screen experience (not to mention battery life) involves the fact that Samsung utilized its expected Full HD resolution and didn’t go higher this year.

The LG G3 was praised for taking the Quad HD leap, but a correction made to an LG G3 battery test shows that the device only gets 6 hours, 14 minutes in terms of endurance ability, while the Sony Xperia Z2 gets over 8 hours of battery life and the Samsung Galaxy S5 gets 7.5 hours of battery life. The LG G3’s flaw is one that Sony hopes it won’t repeat in the Z3, so the company decided to forgo the Quad HD craze and stick with a predictable, yet efficient, on-screen and battery life experience.

Sony will announce its Xperia Z3 smartphone this September, around the IFA 2014 conference in Berlin. At or near the same time, Samsung will announce the Galaxy Note 4 and Apple will announce the iPhone 6. The holiday season should be an interesting one for shoppers.